Michigan Vamp

My Old License Plate

Eccentric Night Owl

Quote from Blood Read

"An ambiguously coded figure, a source of both erotic anxiety and corrupt desire, the literary vampire is one of the most powerful archetypes bequeathed to us from the imagination of the nineteenth century."~ page 2 introduction to Blood Read: The Vampire as Metaphor in Contemporary Culture

Intellectual Vampire Quote

"If the vampire is an other, he or she was always a figure in whom one could find one's self...the despicable as well as the defiant, the shameful as well as the unashamed, the loathing of oddness as well as pride in it."~ Richard Dyer

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Friday, March 8, 2013

There’s something inherently fascinating about bringing two
distinctive things together to create something new. Take Reese’s Peanut Butter
Cups. Chocolate, perfect in its own right and deserving of a food group all its
own. Peanut butter, the staple of probably more than half of the school kid
lunches in America on every given day. Both all on their own fantastic, but
when put together, well, the angels sing.

That’s what blending steampunk and paranormal romance is for
me as a writer, and it’s why I wove them both into The Legend
Chronicles. I love both as their own thing, but when merged into one
story, it’s simply irresistible. It also makes my steampunk world a little
different bend than most. Yes, of course there are the wonders of science, the
mad genius, the spirit of adventure, but there’s also a darkly mystical side to
my world. My heroes in the Legend Chronicles, three brothers named
after their father’s favorite guns, are supernatural hunters in the Wild Weird
West.

Winchester, Remington and Colt have been trained to hunt
down and destroy the Darkin that threaten humanity. So while regular people go
about their daily lives, these guys don’t bat an eye-lash when it comes to
fighting down demons, slay shape-shifters, battling hell-hounds or going up
against ghosts. They just do it with some fantastical steampunk help, such as
Colt’s clockwork horse, Tempus, Sting Shooters (that are steampunk,
Tesla-coil-powered tasers) and the specially designed Darkin-killing bullets
perfected by their inventor friend Marley Turlock. They know that while
ordinary people might not see the ending of the world coming, they are the
first, last and only defense in making sure humanity survives.

Part of what I love about steampunk is the essence that
anything was possible if you were just curious, adventurous or determined
enough to make it happen. It’s accepting that we can be more, do more, than we
ever thought possible by reimagining the past as it could have happened. I love
the clothing, the elegance and intricacy that was part of the Gilded Age. I’ve
a bit of a Victoriana nut with a strong love of tea, and I’m a maker in my own
right. I sew, design, paint, and can my own home-grown fruits, veggies, sauces
and soups, when I’m not out tackling my herb garden. For me steampunk is like
the peanut butter. It’s gritty, it’s brown, it’s got a specific flavor you
won’t find anywhere else and you know it when you taste it.

With paranormal romance, I’m just as fascinated by the things
we can’t see that still influence us. Most of my writing tends to take a
paranormal path, likely because when I was little my mother did things like
pretend we had elves in the tree stump in the back yard. They even talked under
my window one night—which I later found out in my 20s was due to a
tape-recorder. She made my brother and I believe in the magic all around us and
I still have that rose-colored tint to how I look at the world today. But if
there’s one thing about the paranormal I’ve learned, it’s that there’s balance.
Dark must have light to survive and vice versa. And with paranormal romance,
the ending is always sweetly satisfying. You know the good guys win and that
love can conquer all. Paranormal romance is like chocolate. It’s dark, it’s varied,
the subtle changes and flavors are nearly endless and when done right it can be
an experience you can’t get enough of.

So when it comes to blending steampunk and paranormal
romance, it’s not just about the fantastic inventions or goggles, nor is it about
the balancing act between the dark and light forces of the paranormal world and
the power of love. It’s a bit of both, blended together to create a flavor of
fiction that’s something familiar but also completely different. That’s what
I’ve tried to accomplish in my Legend Chronicles series, but you may have to
taste it yourself to find out.

The Chosen

The Legend Chronicles series, book three

Theresa Meyers

Genre: Paranormal Romance / Steampunk

Publisher: Kensington, Zebra

Date of Publication: March 4, 2013

ISBN-10: 142012126XISBN-13: 978-1420121261

ASIN: B009L93H2E

Number of pages: 352 pages (also includes the ebook about Marley, The Inventor, for the first time in print in the back of this book)

The Chosen: a prophecy older than dirt and more dangerous than death. Even as they perfected steam-powered gadgetry and rounded up varmints from Hell, the Jackson brothers didn't believe in it. But when the chips are down, three brothers named for weapons aren't going out without a fight...

A Walk On The Wild Side

Attorney by day, demon-hunter by night, Remington Jackson is used to being on the sunny side of the law, even in the Wild West. But it's showdown time, and Remy and his brothers are getting desperate. They don't have the relic they need to slam the door shut on evil—so Remy is going to have to find and steal part of it.

Enter China McGee, shapeshifter, thief, beauty, and current prisoner. When Remy offers her freedom in exchange for a little light-fingered help, she's pretty sure she's going to end the association with a good old-fashioned seductive double cross. But there's something about fighting through a jungle full of Aztec ruins that makes you want to settle down together. China could change. Remy might be special. But none of that matters if the devil takes them all...

About the Author:

The progeny of a slightly mad (NASA) scientist and a tea-drinking bibliophile who turned the family dining room into a library, Theresa Meyers learned early the value of a questioning mind, books and a good china teapot.

A former journalist and public relations officer, she found far more enjoyment using her writing skills to pen paranormal novels in the turret office of her Victorian home.

She’s spent nearly a quarter of a century with the boy who took her to the Prom, drinks tea with milk and sugar, is an adamant fan of the television show Supernatural, and has an indecent love of hats.

Threesa's mother sounds like a woman after my own heart. If I had kids, I'd play with their minds (in a good way) by doing something like the tape record and elves bit. My mom never kid anything like that, but my theory is life's short get enjoyment out of what you can, like reading steampunk paranormals. (Which she would also give me "the look" if she saw me reading.)